Extend
by LordRichardWellington
Summary: We all have our cards and we all play. The stakes may end all of humanity. What is your value?


Morning.

It was a dark day. Not surprising considering the state of things, the schools barrier keeping the weather from changing. There were always dark clouds in the sky; they transformed the suns rays into streaming lines of grey. The trees around the campus were mostly barren, they gave the impression that winter was upon them. It was not the case and the air lacked the brisk qualities of a winter chill.

The boys' dormitory was alive with noise, people rushing to and from the shower and each others rooms. Some walked aimlessly, in their human façades, attempting a mad dash at finishing their studies. Mid-terms were around the corner, moderately far, yet stirred up the atmosphere. Each student added to the stress, fear, anxiety, and above all, the lust attached to the crushing rampage of foreign emotions all around.

It is in this setting that Tsukune awoke. He made his way through his morning rounds, using the facilities, combing his hair, brushing his teeth, and dressing for school. He was not alone in his daily ritual, though not one person spoke within the confines of the facilities; as is expected by male etiquette.

Tsukune made his way to the stairs of the dormitory; he was running his usual time. He enjoyed the peace of the mornings, even If, at times, it was horrifyingly quiet; deafeningly so. He stepped down the stairs with practiced precision. Physical abilities that first eluded him were now so easily available, though stairs were possibly not the most flashy was to express his newfound, comparatively anyway, prowess; it was easy to move without looking for placement, he could sense the steps, it was a feeling that felt weird to him. A dull sixth sense.

He reached the main floor; it was a strange building, when he first laid eyes upon it the building looked run-down to say the least of it. It was a gruesome building containing no outstanding qualities. Perhaps it had acted as a hotel before, the main floor did not seem fit for housing purposes, and it was more like a lobby. He shrugged and exited the main entrance.

Outside was a graveyard. Tsukune always a morbid curiosity about whether the graves were fake or authentic, he didn't have the gut to find out. He shivered, gasped, and walked faster.

About three-fourths of the way to school, still a decent ways away, Moka joined in on Tsukune's silent and thoughtful walk through the dead forest.

Moka uttered a casual greeting, "Hello, Tsukune. How are you feeling today?"

"I'm fine Moka-san. Mid-term are coming up, huh?" He frowned, despite being a school for monsters it had proven to be just as difficult as any human school and his grades reflected such.

"I'm sure that we can study together and pass," Moka smiled, "So how did your draft for the news article turn out?"

"It turned out great!" Tsukune rummaged through his bag for the draft, "Oh no," he sighed, "I left it in my room." He felt ridiculous and unknowingly place his hand on the back of his neck; he'd spent most of the night slaving over a blank piece of paper, he felt so proud of his work! He could picture it just sitting on his desk, snickering at his efforts, then, finally, laughing hysterically when he had forgotten it this morning!

"It's alright; we don't need it quite today." She added as an afterthought, "And it's good that it's already finished."

"I suppose so."

"…Say, Tsukune?"

"Yes, Moka-san?"

"It's been awhile and I'm sort of thirsty, could I have some of your blood?"

"No."

"Please!" She gave him a very sad look.

He felt bad as he yelled 'No!' and ran through several graveyards and pockets of trees and statues, but it didn't really matter. Moka attained some anyway. The rest of the 'walk' passed without incident.

Classes began.

The school was massive, in had multiple flights of stairs, multiple stories, and many, many students. It amazed Tsukune that all of them were monsters, some of them looked and acted so normal, like a human form was the most natural of their façades. He remembered, if it hadn't been for the bluntness of his homeroom teacher, Nekonome-sensei, he might not have believed monsters even existed. Of course, the more he thought the more he realized the fallacy inner statement.

Nekonome-sensei made a few announcements then left to teach her first class. The math teacher, Ririko-sensei, took her place. They swiftly began notes on some trigonometric function that was way out of Tsukune's league. Instead of understanding, he just wrote everything he saw, he would kill himself over it later, what mattered now was that his notes were completely thorough. Lately, he had been receiving more and more help in this subject from Yukari, he wasn't great in his other classes, but he wouldn't fail, which was a lot more than could be said about his mathematics.

Yukari spent many a day working Kurumu, Tsukune, and herself, into splitting headaches. she felt that all her efforts to tutor Kurumu were in vain, she had caught herself thinking, _Good thing she has giant breasts, cause this is pathetic…_

The classroom door slid open suddenly and everyone looked towards it. A laugh resounded and a white-cloaked man walked in. His gothic witch assistant, Ruby Toujo, was right by his side. This was strange. The cloaked man was the School Chairman; his visits were rare, though it seemed that he felt obliged to make some of his of footwork, or perhaps, he simply wanted to stroll through the halls and this was as good an excuse as any to do so.

Tsukune shook his head and continued writing as if a panicked sociopath, he had a bad feeling. His Holy Lock rattled against the desk as he wrote, it seemed that he was the only one writing, it was not possible, Moka and Kurumu and Yukari and Mizore; surely they paid this event no mind. He stared so intently at the front board that he felt it should have the early stages of holes in it.

The chairman motioned to Ruby and she quietly spoke to Ririko-sensei. She seemed suddenly startled and nodded multiple times. The Chairman announced, "Aono Tsukune! Please come this way."

The chairman laughed maniacally, producing an eerie 'ku' noise, and walked out the door.

A large amount of unbelievable scenarios confronted Tsukune's mind. He shoved them off. He didn't know what the chairman might want with him, but it would certainly be important… And life-threatening… There were still small cells of Anti-Thesis within the campus grounds, and that weird Fairy Tail group. Once, they essentially kidnapped Mizore; that was also the incident with Moka's sister. All-in-all, he would rather not run into them again. Any of them, Anti-Thesis included.

The girls looked troubled, so Tsukune offered, "It'll be fine, everyone."

Tsukune gulped, stood and followed Ruby out of the classroom. This was just what he needed, to become even farther behind in math… He slightly sulked, but walked along. Ruby asked him many questions, questions that she thought were business-like, it was a terrible attempt at casual flirting, but it was still over his head and he answered to the best of his ability.

After a bit of walking, three flights of the grand staircase, three left turns, and a right, they arrived at the chairman's office. Tsukune felt out of place in the office, like he had done something wrong and was awaiting disciplinary action, he had only seen it once or twice before, and the choices or tasks he faced where more than challenging.

The office was dark, as was everything around the school; it contained a medium sized desk, and an elegant chair. There were all sorts of instruments of nefarious natures placed here-and-there throughout the room, the walls were a dark red, and the office was candle-lit and gothic styled. There were windows that cast grey light into the room, it made small parts of walls look a swirling red-grey gradient. The room itself contained a menacing air.

The chairman took his place at the desk and Ruby went to stand by his side. Tsukune was forced the look straight at the chairman.

"Welcome, Aono Tsukune! Don't look so tense; relax." The chairman paused and watched Tsukune.

Tsukune felt the chairman's eyes upon him it only served to make him more conscious of himself, he became even more nervous. Looking at or talking to the chairman was more frightening than some of the worst foes Tsukune ever faced and he had no explanation for it.

The chairman chuckled and continued, "An associate of mine has shown some interest in recent 'activities' that may or may not be attributed to this educational facility. That said," He turned to Ruby, "Bid him entrance."

Ruby nodded and exited the room.

She came back a second later; a long white-haired man followed shortly, he seemed to make an effort to move slowly. He wore a business suit and a long flowing cape, Onyx on the outside and a dark, blood red on the inside. His eyes were strange; black pupils with a spot of white in the direct center of each eye. His face was perfect, no scars or any other sort of blemish presented itself. He carried a royal air, not over-imposing, but enough to catch ones attention.

He spoke with an accent Tsukune had never heard before, it flowed very richly in his speech; it enhanced influence of his words ever so slightly, "'Mr. Chairman', so generous to invite me to this grand and prestigious establishment."

The chairman responded, "No need to be so formal, Richard."

"Ah, but there is a need, the precious 'balance', of course." He chuckled out. "Now I am to assume the matter of interest has not been touched upon?" He pause and chuckled and spoke once more, "Actually, I can assume the matter has been all 'but' explained, correct?"

A nod came from the chairman.

"I see. May I borrow your office? Or must I steal a room?"

Another nod. Then the chairman rose and left, Ruby exited just after. Then it was just Tsukune and 'Richard'.

'Richard' checked the door and once satisfied moved to the empty desk, he did not sit and he did not face Tsukune, but he spoke, "So you are the prospect that has been causing such a stir within, let us call it, 'the world', shall we? Now, I've information about your possible destiny. Whether you follow any particular route is up to you to decide, just consider me a Gateway.

"So far, you have lived up to the supposed challenges set before you, if you prefer to think of it in that manner. Your fate 'Is' a …'difficult' one. It will force you to see a reality that you may not be capable of handling. We all have our cards and play the game, but we can't tell just how your hand will fare. And the Balance must be protected. So I offer you a chance to reinforce your hand and rid you of certain 'hindrances'. Do you follow what I'm saying?"

Tsukune didn't, none of it made sense, but he nodded and said that he did.

"Good. Then finally, I propose to you an offer to abate your circumstances as they stand. Mind you now, this is not an offer to be easily accepted, and I'll be rather disappointed should you not 'understand'. Now without further long-windedness or unnecessary speech: I offer you the power to protect everything that you have come to love within this world. I offer you the power of the 'Vampires'. Not those of the variety that you acknowledge, but one of a different variant, something perhaps unimaginable. I want you to think hard upon this decision, but I'll also cast my influence upon you. So, Aono Tsukune, for the overwhelming power to 'protect' not only your friends and family but all those that cannot defend themselves from the wrath of those, the evil sort, would you embrace vampirism?"

Tsukune made the choice a long time ago, back when he first thought the vampire blood flowing within his veins was corrupting his very humanity. He knew, to protect others he would sacrifice himself freely. Richard watched as Tsukune made a final and concise closing decision.

Tsukune made an attempt at speaking, gulped and rasped out, "I… I… will."

An evil smile graced Richard's lips.

**Give me an opinion people, good or bad, plot to fast, too out of character? **

**Review and play the role of Critic.**

**LRW out.**


End file.
